Meet the Stars of NYMF: Sally Staats of PASSING BY

New York Musical Theatre Festival is in full swing and BroadwayWorld has taken the time to sit down with some of the stars of this years NYMF musicals.

Like any great art form, musical theatre is shaped by the events and philosophies of the day. The strength and vitality of musical theatre lie in its ability to stay fresh and relevant. It was with that idea in mind, ten years ago, that the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) was created - to provide an effective platform to introduce new shows, new perspectives, and new blood into the musical theatre canon.

MEET THE STARS OF NYMF sits down with Sally Staats of PASSING BY

What's your favorite thing about performing as part of NYMF?

One of the factors that attracts me to any theatre festival is the bringing together of familiar themes with new words, movement, and music! I feel very lucky to not only be in a new work, but also to get to experience other brilliant works before they are unleashed upon the world.

Have you participated in NYMF before? If so, what's your favorite part and what drew you back to the festival?

Although I have been lucky enough to be in a show that came to New York before, this was my first NYMF experinence!

What other NYMF show are you most intrigued by or excited to see?

I would be interested in seeing "Daughter of the Waves". The combination of modern movement with Irish folk-influenced music seems like a lovely marriage of the past and present.

Tell us about your show/your character?

"Passing By" is such a beautiful story because it is universal. When you strip the show down, it is a story about two young people who grow up with different ambitions, but share the same love. I play Jenny Zimmerman, a girl not unlike myself and many others that I grew up with. She is incredibly ambitious, but also is very unsure of herself. And the compelling journey that she goes on throughout the show is one that many of us have gone on: What happens when you realize that you've been dreaming someone else's dream?